Doug Nickerson is never without a naloxone kit, which he says he has used 113 times He walks Surrey's notorious strip in Whalley, always carrying a naloxone kit. Having being saved five times from the life-saving naloxone, Doug Nickerson now puts it to use for others he sees on Surrey's most battle worn street. "I don't go anywhere without a naloxone kit," said Nickerson. "I hang a kit on my belt loop and away I go. Always have it." [continues 549 words]
The other day I happened to cut through a wooded area in Surrey and came across a disoriented, confused young lady on drugs and in some distress. I couldn't help but think that she is someone's daughter, probably with parents out there worrying about her. I phoned the police who came immediately to check on her. When I checked back next day, the authorities told me they took the young woman to the hospital. If I hadn't come along, she may have fallen asleep and frozen to death or someone else may have come along and taken advantage of her. This brought tears to my eyes because I know what it is like as a parent to worry that I may lose my daughter or granddaughter to an overdose. [continues 144 words]
B.C. communities struggling to deal with unregulated marijuana sales are looking for help, or a piece of the action as growers and sellers compete for a share of the expanding legal market. Pot problems are high on the agenda for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in September, as local governments continue to deal with fire hazards and retail outlets selling untested marijuana products in defiance of federal and local laws. Nelson and Duncan councils are calling on the provincial and federal governments to share tax revenue with local governments, when the Justin Trudeau government puts its plan to legalize recreational marijuana sales next year. [continues 230 words]
A makeshift safe injection site has been set up in North Surrey, raising the ire of local organizations that are trying to create a permanent facility in Surrey. On Wednesday, a volunteer with a Vancouver support group for drug users set up a table on 135A Street to give people a safe place to inject their drugs. Ann Livingston, a longtime volunteer with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), said she was motivated to bring the safe injection site to Surrey for several reasons. [continues 514 words]
I read about the number of overdoses in the Whalley area of Surrey. I am a recovering addict and I know only too well how dangerous it is doing drugs by yourself. You tend to hide and do them in private. Now with all the stuff that is mixed in with drugs, it is even more dangerous. I cleaned up 11 years ago, but I used to be one of the many homeless and addicted wandering the streets of Surrey. I used to hide in fields, old abandoned houses and buildings to inject my drugs. [continues 255 words]
Fraser Health will quickly identify priority sites for supervised drug consumption as part of a broader strategy to contain a surge in illicit drug overdoses. Surrey is certain to be one of the proposed locations, but health authority officials aren't yet saying if they will also propose sites in other drug-troubled downtowns such as Langley City, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford. "We're at early stages of identifying priority communities and having initial conversations, dialogue and engagement with municipalities," said Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser's chief medical health officer. [continues 742 words]
A flood of overdoses in Whalley has Linda Hepner considering providing safe consumption sites for drug users Rocked by more than 40 drug overdoses in Whalley over the weekend, Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner is reconsidering a long-standing stance in the city around harm reduction. There were 43 overdoses in North Surrey over the weekend, much of them a result of fentanyl-laced crack cocaine. Fraser Health Authority (FHA) is now issuing warnings to mitigate the dangers of lethal fentanyl and its powerful cousin, W-18, of which little is known. [continues 407 words]
Most Overdose Fatalities Tied to Fentanyl New statistics show 308 B.C. residents died of illicit drug overdoses in the first four months of 2016, up 75 per cent from the 176 deaths in the same January to May period of 2015. And the proportion of deaths tied to the synthetic drug fentanyl has climbed further to 56 per cent of the 2016 deaths so far, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. By comparison, 31 per cent of illicit drug deaths in 2015 were linked to fentanyl, used either on its own or knowingly or unknowingly in combination with other drugs. [continues 487 words]
The WeeMedical Dispensary Society's medical pot shop in North Delta has been told to butt out by Delta council - but the society's director is vowing to stay open. On Monday afternoon, Delta council voted unanimously to deny the society's appeal for a business licence to sell medical marijuana at its shop on Scott Road. "It's clear Delta bylaws don't allow the sale of medical marijuana," Coun. Jeannie Kanakos said. WeeMedical was appealing a decision last month by the municipality's Property Use and Compliance department to deny it a business licence. [continues 507 words]
Columnist Tom Fletcher missed the bull's eye regarding cannabis (marijuana), implying it's an "inconsistent" herbal remedy that hasn't been studied much because it's been illegal ("Bowing to the power of judges," The Leader, March 2). Government-subsidized prohibitionists in North America have hindered research progress, however, the plant has been documented medically for more than 5,000 years medically without a single death. That's safety and consistency on a Biblical scale. [end]
Surrey Mounties will be able to view more than 400 traffic surveillance cameras in real time to combat shootings Surrey RCMP will be given real-time access to more than 400 traffic cameras in the city, and the full force of the regional Mounties to put an end to this year's shootings. The announcement comes as Surrey grapples with more than 30 shootings so far this year - a rate of one every three days. It's twice the rate of shootings that occurred last year. [continues 563 words]
Surrey RCMP have now been called to more than 30 shots fired incidents in 2016. While there has only been one death as a result of the gunfire thus far (as of Wednesday), there have been five injuries. Nine buildings have been struck. Perspective is important. The 30-plus shots fired incidents represent half of all such incidents reported to police last year. That was a year in which police and members of the public both made it clear there were a staggering number of shots fired. If this year's incidents continue at the same rate, there will be twice as many in 2016. [continues 532 words]
My recent columns on B.C.'s struggle with the growing westward migration of transients have produced responses that fall mainly into two groups. The largest is people relieved that somebody is questioning the urban media narrative. That's the one where drifters, drug addicts, welfare shoppers and thieves are the victims and working people, whose hard-earned communities are being degraded, are the problem because of their selfish, uncaring attitudes. Then there are readers so marinated in our nanny-state education, media and political system they object to anything other than a big-government response. They tend to ask, what's your solution, Tom? [continues 511 words]
One of the enduring legacies of Pierre Trudeau's time as prime minister is the legal supremacy of the individual, as articulated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We are seeing this played out with greater force than ever today, by an activist high court that swatted aside Stephen Harper's attempts to restrain it, and now orders a meek, politically correct Justin Trudeau government to do its bidding. The Federal Court decreed last week that people have the right to grow their own "medical" marijuana. This ruling is unlikely to be appealed, given that Trudeau the Younger is committed to legalizing marijuana for everyone. [continues 500 words]
I still remember trying marijuana like it was yesterday. I was about eight or 10 years old. People told me it would lead to other stronger drugs. Of course I never believed it. Besides I swore I'd never let a drug control my life. Now here I am with a wasted life. Because it did lead to harder drugs. After ending up a heroin addict, it took me 46 years to get a handle on my sickness (addiction). Once you start, it's so hard to stop. Weed should not be sold in stores on every street corner when it's legalized. Strict laws should apply because it's an accident waiting to happen. John Durham [end]
Re: "High time to talk about pot, " Letters, The Leader, Sept. 2. The Huffington Post reports that in Canada, mandatory minimum sentences range from six months to three years, depending on the severity of the offence. Under the law passed in 2012, someone who grows six plants "for the purpose of trafficking" is automatically sentenced to six months in jail. In the same year the mandatory minimums were introduced here, a U.S. panel of former and current police officials warned the Conservative government about the consequences of launching a war on drugs. [continues 119 words]
It's been a topsy-turvy week for the federal Liberals in South Surrey-White Rock, with candidate Joy Davies resigning Sept. 10 after controversial remarks she made about marijuana use. Davies has been replaced by longtime Liberal and former Surrey councillor Judy Higginbotham. South Surrey resident Higginbotham has been soldiering for the Liberals, both federal and provincial, since 1983, when she first ran with the provincial Liberals in what was then the two-member riding of Surrey-White Rock. She left the provincial Liberals to run with the doomed Social Credit party in the 1991 provincial election in Surrey-Cloverdale, but has been a loyal Liberal since that time. [continues 507 words]
Should recreational use of marijuana be legalized? With the recent legalization of marijuana in Washington and Oregon, and with the inconsistencies surrounding marijuana dispensaries in B.C., we are young citizens who have many questions about where our community is headed in regard to marijuana. Should Canada move from legalization of medical marijuana to an inclusive legalization for recreational use? Arrests for pot possession in this province have been increasing - although the number of arrests depends on the region of the province where people reside. [continues 250 words]
Marijuana stores have been sprouting all over Washington State since retail trade in the drug was legalized in a referendum, but the first one has now opened within walking distance of the B.C. border. Evergreen Cannabis is aimed squarely at the Canadian market and its Blaine storefront at 922 Peace Portal Drive - with a sign that reads "recreational marijuana store" - is within sight of both the Peace Arch and White Rock. "I know I am controversial because I am close to the border," owner Jake Lamont, a Birch Bay resident, told Black Press this week. [continues 440 words]
Fewer teens South of the Fraser are drinking or taking drugs than five years ago, according to a comprehensive new study that paints a generally improved portrait of adolescent health in B.C. The McCreary Centre Society surveyed 30,000 B.C. students in grades 7 to 12 in 2013 and released itsdetailed report Tuesday on the Fraser South region, which includes Delta, Surrey and Langley school districts. On substance use, the survey found fewer youth in Fraser South had ever tried alcohol (37 per cent), marijuana (21 per cent) or tobacco (16 per cent) compared to 2008, when those rates were 48 per cent, 26 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively. [continues 359 words]
Doctors To Get Guidance On Pot Prescriptions The federal government will appeal a March 21 court injunction that lets authorized patients temporarily keep growing their own medical marijuana past April 1, when the old system was to be outlawed. The move by Health Canada keeps thousands of medical marijuana users off balance as to how long they can continue home growing under personal production licences. They had been under a federal directive to stop growing, destroy any unused pot and confirm in writing by April 30 they had done so or face potential police enforcement. [continues 347 words]
Medical pot grow-ops in residential homes have to be shut down as of next week (April 1), and the City of Surrey will be following up to make sure the houses are safe. People ignoring the city's requests for remediation work may face thousands of dollars in inspection costs. The clean-up initiative comes as Health Canada ends the ability for people licensed to use medicinal marijuana to grow it at home (see story, page 3). Medical pot now must now be purchased from regulated commercial producers. [continues 181 words]
Hundreds face enforcement this spring as licenses expire Some B.C. cities are vowing to do what they can to uproot licensed medical marijuana grow operations in homes that will become illegal this spring as federally approved large-scale commercial growers take over. As of April 1, an estimated 11,500 B.C. medical marijuana grow operations that have been run by or on behalf of federally licensed users are supposed to shut down voluntarily but civic leaders say Health Canada is doing almost nothing to force them to comply. [continues 542 words]
Re: "Marijuana referendum petition fizzles but campaigners vow to fight on," The Leader, Dec. 9). Although Sensible B.C. didn't get enough signatures to get on the next ballot, I'm writing to encourage citizens in British Columbia and all Canadians to continue to hope and fight the good fight to end discrimination towards humans who use the God-given plant cannabis (marijuana). The majority of North Americans support ending this government-subsidized discrimination and the day will come when the injustice is over and people look back and ask how on Earth cannabis prohibition ever started to begin with. As a Colorado citizen who helped re-legalize cannabis for sick citizens over a decade ago and completely re-legalize the plant a year ago, I can assure Canadians, the vile ignorance will end. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
Short of Signatures As Deadline Looms Dana Larsen isn't conceding defeat yet, but the head of the Sensible BC campaign to reform marijuana policing is already talking about another petition drive if the one now underway fails. Canvassers have less than three weeks left before the Dec. 9 deadline to submit the petition bearing the signatures of 10 per cent of eligible voters in every B.C. riding. They have around 150,000 signatures counted as of Nov. 19, or about half the number needed and far short of their target of 450,000 to provide a buffer against disqualified signatures. [continues 373 words]
There is a big difference between condoning marijuana use and protecting children from drugs. Decriminalization as proposed by "Sensible B.C." acknowledges the social reality of marijuana and frees users from criminal records. That's a step in the right direction. What's really needed is a legally regulated market with age controls. Separating the hard and soft drug markets is critical. As long as organized crime controls marijuana distribution, consumers will come into contact with sellers of hard drugs like cocaine, meth and heroin. [continues 88 words]
But Sensible BC Predicts Slow Sign-Up Start Will Accelerate Pot reformers have fallen short of their sign-up target for the first third of their campaign to force a provincial referendum on marijuana enforcement. Sensible BC spokesman Dana Larsen said the campaign had 65,000 signatures as of Oct. 9 - 15,000 less than their aim of 80,000 by the 30-day mark of the 90-day petition drive. "We're a little bit behind the target we set," Larsen said, adding getting canvassers officially registered has proven more onerous than expected. [continues 368 words]
I won't be signing the "Sensible B.C." petition to demand a provincewide referendum on marijuana enforcement. You shouldn't either, and here are a few reasons why. Let me start by saying I've been calling for legalization and regulation of pot for 20 years, to conserve police resources and reduce violent crime. Our war on drugs is a failure even for heroin and cocaine, and marijuana is obviously much easier to produce. But the current effort led by Dana Larsen, B.C.'s clown prince of pot, is not only misguided, it's dangerous. [continues 516 words]
Proposal from police signals shift toward cannabis reform, says SFU professor A recommendation to let police treat simple marijuana possession as a ticketing offence is being opposed by the head of a provincial campaign to decriminalize pot. Dana Larsen, whose group Sensible BC is set to kick off a petition campaign next month to force a referendum on marijuana policy, says the new resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is counter-productive. The chiefs' association argues the option of writing tickets to punish people caught with less than 30 grams of marijuana would be less costly and time-intensive than sending criminal charges through the courts. [continues 751 words]
Re: "Admitting pot use at U.S. border may get you banned," The Leader, April 2. I think being banned from the U.S. for smoking marijuana isn't right. It's just a plant. It won't even harm anyone besides the user. Think of it this way: You go to the U.S. border, you're carrying a six-pack of beer in your car, you get permanently banned from the U.S. It's no worse. Alcohol does more damage than pot. [continues 55 words]
Chasing too much revenue may keep black market alive Taxing B.C. bud could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in provincial government revenue each year, but likely not billions, a new study suggests. The study, prepared by UBC and SFU researchers and published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, estimates B.C. marijuana users spend roughly $500 million a year on pot. The Stop The Violence BC campaign to legalize marijuana has used that figure to infer B.C. could reap $2.5 billion in revenue over five years by heavily taxing the drug. [continues 451 words]
B.C. civic leaders have voted to support the decriminalization of marijuana, at a gathering of provincial municipalities Wednesday. Delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM), a civic lobby group, voted in favour of a resolution calling for the decriminalization and taxation of marijuana. The resolution itself won't change any existing laws, but it will put pressure on senior levels of government, namely Ottawa, to make those changes. The delegates were divided amongst those who believe decriminalization will lead to more harmful drugs becoming more available on the street, while those in favour say current laws allow organized crime to make massive profits. [continues 249 words]
If buying lottery tickets is foolish, then governments are taxing fools. If buying cigarettes and alcohol is foolish, then governments are taxing fools. If buying marijuana is foolish, then criminals are exploiting fools. Fools will always be fools. If we don't let the marijuana fools pay taxes for their foolishness, then we are even bigger fools. Lloyd Atkins, Vernon [end]
Re: "Eight mayors echo call for marijuana reform." Hallelujah! After four former B.C. attorneys general have joined four former Vancouver mayors endorsing an end to marijuana prohibition, eight sitting B.C. mayors have now "echoed" the clarion call for marijuana reform. Legalize, regulate and tax pot and presto - gang-related violent crime in our communities and fear among our citizens would disappear. But wait, that's not all. The collateral benefit of a "potted" Canada will be of having solved, virtually overnight, Canada's problem of declining tourism from south of the border and elsewhere. [continues 160 words]
Re: "Prohibition won't stop teen pot use." I read with interest Evan Woods' letter in the May 8 edition of The Leader and just had to say something. We hear the same old explanations for legalization all the time - how liquor prohibition didn't work, how gang violence is increasing, how teens seek the "forbidden fruit" and all these points are true, but there are other things to consider. Alcohol and tobacco are currently legal and regulated and yet teens do seek them out along with pot. If pot was regulated then the use would continue, but using Woods' argument about forbidden fruit, you would see a definite increase in the use of other drugs. [continues 125 words]
In your recent article, "Mayors echo call for pot reform" (The Leader, May 1), Surrey Mayor Diane Watts indicated that she would not support marijuana reform because drug dealers are targeting kids. Though her observations are correct, the evidence shows that her conclusions are wrong. To help prevent children and teenagers from obtaining marijuana we need to regulate the cannabis market under a public health framework, rather than blindly hope that the experiment with alcohol prohibition will not be repeated with marijuana. [continues 351 words]
Re: "Former B.C. A-Gs join push to legalize marijuana," The Leader, Feb. 14. This confirms what organizations and advocates of legalization, regulation, and taxation have been saying all along. But what has B.C. Attorney General Shirley Bond been smoking? The idea that police efforts to combat gang violence are working is an outrageous fabrication. As long as prohibition exists gang violence will persist and, on occasion, the odd bystander will get caught in the crossfire. With the passing of the Safe Streets and Communities Act gang violence will likely escalate as well as the potential for collateral damage. [continues 58 words]
A coordinated push to legalize marijuana has gained the backing of four former B.C. attorneys-general, including B.C. Liberal Geoff Plant. The four - who include former NDP A-Gs Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh and Graeme Bowbrick - signed a letter to Premier Christy Clark and Opposition leader Adrian Dix calling for the regulation and taxation of cannabis to combat organized crime. They're the latest high-profile additions to the Stop the Violence B.C. coalition campaign for pot decriminalization. [continues 504 words]
Re: Shootings in Surrey. Mayor Dianne Watts' statement about "legalization of drugs is an age old argument that won't solve the problem" is about as well thought out as her tougher sentences for handguns. Courts are already tossing out major hard drug cases because they took too long to get to trial. Busting more people sure isn't going to make things better. Next, she will be espousing the power of prayer to deal with issues. That always makes people feel good even if it does nothing. Maybe lock the bad guys up in old churches. Keep up the chuckle quota, Dianne. T. Glatley [end]
The number of grow-ops in Surrey may be dropping, but the level of drug-related gang violence certainly isn't. Early Tuesday morning, as Vancouver radio stations reported on Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts' comments that the number of grow-ops being found in the city had dropped by 82 per cent, a man was ambushed as he got out of a rental car near 144 Street and 92 Avenue. At least one gunman critically wounded him, and then stole his rental car. [continues 503 words]
In the last month, Surrey has seen eight shootings, four of them fatal. Police say it's been an unfortunate spike in gun violence, but they also note that's how violent crime presents itself in peaks and valleys. Overall, police and politicians point out, the number of homicides in 2011 was down. There were 12 killings in the city last year and the overall annual average for the past 10 years has been 13. Last week, Mayor Dianne Watts called on the federal government for stiffer sentences for people involved in gun crimes and a better guard against the number of guns flowing across the U.S. border. [continues 842 words]
It's commendable that B.C. public health officers recognize the obvious pitfalls of cannabis (marijuana) prohibition ("Legalize and tax pot, health officers urge," The Leader, Jan. 3,). However, some clarifications must be made. Cannabis may not be totally safe but it hasn't directly killed anyone in over 5,000 years of documented use. That's safety on a Biblical scale. Cannabis should be re-legalized, regulated and taxed because it is far safer than alcohol and it is here for the duration anyway. Why keep forcing the dangerous underground black market to regulate a business that is guaranteed to continue? [continues 68 words]
Marijuana Is Not Safe, But Violence 'Poses More Danger,' Group Says A group of B.C. public health officers has joined a growing coalition of policy leaders urging the legalization and taxation of marijuana. The Health Officers Council of B.C. voted to endorse Stop the Violence B.C. and called for regulation of illegal substances like marijuana to reduce the harm from substance use and the unintended consequences of government policies. "The Health Officer's Council and other experts are not saying that marijuana should be legalized and taxed because it is safe," said Dr. Paul Hasselback, a Vancouver Island medical health officer who chairs the council. [continues 281 words]
More than $100 million worth of electricity is stolen from BC Hydro every year, with much of it stolen to power marijuana grow-ops. As an honest BC Hydro customer, it makes me more than just a little unhappy to know that people are stealing electricity. It makes me even more unhappy to know that the cost of all that stolen electricity gets added to the hydro bills of honest BC Hydro customers like you and me. That's why I'm glad BC Hydro is finally installing smart meters and putting an end to preventable electricity theft. Smart meters will let BC Hydro zero in on electricity theft quickly and accurately and shut down the perpetrators. The old mechanical meters BC Hydro has relied on since the 1940s and 1950s simply can't do that. [continues 126 words]
This reader's letter (Wayne Clark from Maple Ridge) caught my eye and before I read the letter, I predicted that the person was going to pick sides with marijuana growers. I was right. The crime bill "costs too much," so the solution he thinks is to be soft on drug growers and traffickers so we don't have to pay for jails. He calls this a "mix of conservative and religious ideology." This is the most ridiculous argument I have ever heard. Save money on jails and let criminals off, so they can steal more from us. What a great concept. Peter Schmidt, Surrey [end]
In the Sept. 27 issue of The Leader, the front page article concerning the RCMP's marijuana grow-op initiative caught my eye, It was stated that this program is being used to bring the problem of grow-ops to the public eye, but what concerns me is that this very information can be detrimental, even highly dangerous to any new or unsuspecting homeowners or residents. As the article suggests, sometimes the grow-ops pop back up in the same places, this is true, and it then becomes unethical, even morally reprehensible, to have published these addresses. [continues 140 words]
Surrey is reporting far more pot grow-ops than other jurisdictions in B.C., which Mounties say is due in part to a dedicated team tackling the the clandestine operations. As part of a new program called the Marijuana Grow Initiative, police are making public all places where they seize marijuana grow operations. The addresses of homes where marijuana grow-ops are found have been published on the RCMP website, and as of Friday (Sept. 23), 26 out of the 60 published are in Surrey. [continues 294 words]
I am writing to seek assistance on how to deal with a problem a Bucci Park in the Fleetwood area of Surrey. Bucci Park is in the middle of three adjoining residential subdivisions. There is no public parking and would be considered a green space (with a small playground area) for the use of the local residents. Unfortunately it is also used as a location to buy and sell drugs and as a spot for people to smoke dope. People travel to Bucci Park to openly deal drugs and smoke pot. These are not people who live in the adjoining subdivisions. What is worse is that this happens during daylight hours when there are families with small children trying to enjoy the area. [continues 228 words]
I find it quite upsetting that BC Hydro is losing $154 million a year to electricity theft due to marijuana grow operations. This loss of revenue is reportedly adding five per cent to everyone's hydro bills: yours, mine and the legitimate businesses operating in our communities. However, it occurs to me that if the cost of the electricity being stolen each year is $154 million, then the total cost of electricity theft must be even greater when you factor in the cost of tracking down the theft and the thieves and repairing the damage they've done along the way. [continues 63 words]
